Well... As promised :) This is the sequel to "Luck Had to Run Out Someday" Thanks to all those who followed/favorited that story! It was my first and I had more than 30 followers! I'd say that is quite a success I guess? Haha. I wasn't able to write much lately because of my online course, but now that I'm done... I'll be writing more! I had to take a break from this story and tell you the truth, now that I think about it... I feel like The Last of Us really doesn't need a sequel. The ending really concluded everything. How Ellie really trusted Joel and how Joel lied to keep her safe as if Ellie was his daughter. The game is quite a masterpiece. I feel like if Joel and Ellie were to go on another adventure, it would be super repetitive... which is why I'm probably not going to write another story about Joel and Ellie going on an adventure again. This is the last story that I'll write about this.

So basically "The Better Survivor" will conclude the story from "Luck Had to Run Out Someday" If you guys didn't read it, it may be a little bit confusing for you guys hahaha.

I must say that since "Luck Had to Run Out Someday" WAS my first story on FanFiction, the first few chapters were really really really really really REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY HORRIBLE.

Hopefully this story can grab your attention and you'll give me some mercy no? ;)

Please Rate and Review because I love feedback. Some of you may not know this but... I write to improve my essays, but overall, I've come to enjoy writing :)

Remind me if the characters are OOC and as always... Thanks for reading!

So without further ado... Here's the first chapter of "The Better Survivor."

Hope you like it! :)

Chapter 1 – Ellie – Innocence

I awaken confused and startled with my hands tied together. A sharp stinging pain swelled on the skin of my face. The pain was so bad that I started to tear up. My head hurt a lot as well. Every motion I made, a swelling pain flowed through my head. I grumbled and tried to shake my head to get rid of the pain. I blinked around to see a light shining down on my face. I began to look around and noticed that I wasn't at home. This wasn't a place I recognized. My ears were drumming and it began to occur to me that someone was talking. I could barely hear him.

"Ge… ip… mo…" I could barely understand what he was saying

I looked around again to try and find the person that was talking. I closed my eyes and tried to calm down.

"Did… you hear me bitch?" It was a girl who was talking, "We're… We're moving… Get the fuck up."

She went in front of me and had a gun pointed to my head. That's when I remembered what happened back at the river. I waved frantically telling Joel to turn around, but I got grabbed by the pale man. I remember him choking me and hitting me in the head after. My survival instincts kicked in. I felt my pocket knife in my pants and I quickly tried to grab it. I was interrupted when I just started to notice that my hands were tied up. The girl fumbled for her gun and aimed it at my head. Her hand was shaking and I knew she was panicking. Her mouth was trembling and her eyes were a little bit bigger than before. Joel taught me to learn the facial expressions of the enemy to know more about them. How they could fight. What their capabilities are. Right now, I knew she was scared. I knew she didn't sign up for this. She didn't want to do this to someone. She was inexperienced. I checked the right side of her gun to notice that her gun was still on safety. I didn't say anything.

"Any… Any sudden moves and… I'll blow your head off!" She tried her best to sound threatening.

I continued to stare at her. I put down my hands and studied her more. She was pale, but looked healthy. It looked like she ate plentifully. She had blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. I took a deep breath and looked around searching for my backpack. The room was dark except for a small dim light above us. All the faces of the room had no windows. All walls. I saw no sign of my backpack as well.

"Get up!" The girl still had the gun pointed at me with the safety still on. I didn't negotiate with enemies. But she looked scared. As if she really didn't want to hurt anyone. I looked at her and I knew that she really was hating to do this. But I could manipulate her.

"My hands really hurt from these ropes. Mind if you cut them open?" I finally started talking.

"I d-don't… I don't have a knife! Don't ask me…! J-just get up!" She really was scared.

"I have on in my pocket. I'm losing circulation on my hands. They really hurt."

"I… I know you're tricking m-me!" She held both her hands together on the gun, but her safety was still on.

"Hey lady. I'm going to die soon. Just fucking untie me alright? I don't have anything but a stupid knife. What do you think I'm going to do?" She wasn't experienced with the outside world. I knew it. If I were her, I wouldn't have hesitated. She began to move her hands towards my pocket. This girl seriously can't survive on her own. She's so gullible. I had a plan. As soon as she flips open the switchblade, I'm going to lunge towards her and stick the knife into her head. She probably won't feel a thing. Her hands were trembling and reached in.

"Please… I don't w-want you to die. I know what you're going to d-do to me. Please… Just d-don't do what you're going to d-do…" She started to cry. Her hand stopped moving in my pocket and she looked at my face. She was so close that I could feel her breathe. "I'm s-scared…" Tears ran down her face. I studied it. She didn't want to die. She wanted to stay alive. She didn't want to kill me either. She really was scared.

But what for? My hands were tied. I couldn't get up. She could easily kill me right now. "Why does everyone die now?" Snot began to come down her nose. She was a cute girl. But shit. This was pretty pitiful.

"We're in a different world."

"We can change it." Her teardrops dripped onto my jeans.

"I don't think we can anymore." I murmured.

"Then you want to die?" She asked, "I've lost everyone. My mom, dad, brother, friends… Everyone."

Did I want to die? Was my life worth it? I need to get the fuck out of here. This girl was freaking me out. She deserved more than doing this.

That's when time slowed down. I began to think…

Ok. She lost everyone she loved. Why was she dragged into this? Why's she so scared of me? I need to do something to her quick. Should I kill her?

No.

That's just horrible. This chick lost a lot.

But I did as well and I survived. I was able to go through this. She has to have someone that she cares for.

Ok. I need to think of a better plan. Quick. I don't want her to raise the alarm. But I don't want her to die…

What the fuck do I do?

Think… Think…

Think…

Joel.

What would Joel do?

Ok. Yeah. I guess that's what he would do.

Fuck this. I need to get the hell out of here alive.

The girl took out the knife, popped it open, and cut me free. "O-Ok… We had a deal."

"Deal's off."

Everything happened in a flash. Time went by faster than I thought. I had no clue what I was doing, but I knew that what I did was efficient. Both of us grunted as I tried to get a grip on my mom's blade and her trying to stop me. She was whimpering and began to fumble for her gun. She aimed it towards my head and tried to shoot, but nothing came out of it. I stared at her. Her eyes wide. Her hands shaking furiously holding onto the gun. I grunted and it wasn't until I finished until I saw what I have done. I was breathing heavily and looked at the now mutilated chick that was my age. Stab wounds everywhere – cheek, chest, and nose. Warm blood continued to leak out of her skin. Her eyes were still open with the expression of shock and even some relief. Blood that wasn't mine dripped down my check and hands. My nose was flaring and my mouth was open.

I just killed a girl that was my age.

Realizing that I was still on top of her, I kicked away and struggled to get up. I sat on a wall staring at her. She was motionless. Arms completely separated with legs and feet a few inches apart from each other. A puddle of blood started to form from her head.

"Oh fuck." I stared at my hands and switchblade. The weapons that I used to kill her. Was her life worth it? Did I have to kill her? She was scared and innocent. Joel told me girls back then like me would start crying and weeping if they ever did this. "Hell," I recalled from him saying, "Girls like you wouldn't even try and kill anyone." I knew that all along that I was different from the others. I was taught something that no girl or guy has ever been taught from the inside world.

That's surviving.

Joel taught me the fundamentals, and I picked up from there. I learned how to use a gun and a bow and arrow. I even learned how to treat my wounds. He taught me how to survive.

Realizing that I was killing crucial time, I quickly got up and ran out of the room. The place was longer than I expected. I needed to find my supplies quick. I needed to find Joel. She was supposed to bring me somewhere… Where would she have sent me? I suddenly heard footsteps and quickly ran back in and closed the door.

"What's that bitch taking so long?" The man had a gruff voice and grumbled.

"Hell would I know? Bet she's havin' some fun. Am I right?" The other had a sharper and higher voice.

"Feel bad for her. You heard what happened with her when she was only six?"

"Think so. Pack of clickers snatched her family right from her right?"

"Poor soul. Friends died along with her as well. She's definitely got some shit going on through her head."

"Should we check on her and that crazy psycho?" The person with the sharp person asked, "Don't want her trying to befriend her. Heard the psycho took down this cannibal group back during the winter season. A cannibal group. With family and kids. "

The gruff man chuckled. "Don't worry mate. I'm sure she'll be fine."

The higher-pitched man sighed, "Just wish I could be with her more. Really wanted to teacher her how to drive Chris's four-wheeler."

"Don't worry about it. You know her more than any of us." I heard the gruff man pat him on the shoulder. The sound made it loud enough that it began to echo down the corridor. "I'm sure she'll be fine. Hey. Wanna check on the kids? Maybe we could get some soup down there. Wife said they're making some beef stew today." The gruff voice tried to cheer him up.

"We should group up at town hall. Heard they were interrogating the psycho's guardian."

"But I'm hungry." The gruff man complained.

The high pitched guy sighed. "Fine. Food, then town hall. Don't forget your patch. Fucking lose it and they say that you're a dead man." They began to walk away and started to talk about pie and how they missed the smell. I breathed a sigh of relief and slowly turned around to the girl's body.

A patch?

I slowly went back towards the dead girl and noticed a kind of patch with a fire design on her shirt. The floor was still covered in dark red blood and the girl continued to stare off into oblivion. I sighed and put my hands to her eyes. "Just this once," I slowly moved my hand down and her eyelids covered her eyes. She's sleeping peacefully now. "You'll find a world that fits you." I stared at her and felt so cruel for what I did. I sighed and stared at the now-eternally sleeping girl that was my age. She looked as if she were to wake up any second

"What the fuck am I doing? " I asked myself. "Don't be such a soft person. It was you or her. Get back to the real world."

But this isn't the real world. This world is in shambles. It's basically over. Why are we still fighting for survival?

"There's still a chance. She was right. She really was." I continued to think in my head. "Survive. Remember what she said."

I took a deep breath and continued staring at her. She had so much potential to survive. I guess this world just really doesn't fit her.

"Ellie. What the hell are you doing? We're losing time." My head was talking to me. I began to see stars and I grew dizzy. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "Everything's going to be fine…" I repeated the sentence ten times and opened my eyes. Sarah, our medic back at Tommy and Maria's recommendation really helped. I began stripping the girl and took her coat with the emblem. Some blood covered the jacket but overall, it was still in good condition.

I hid the blonde in a dark corner and walked out. I put on the hood and felt completely hidden. The jacket was warm. There was fur inside that felt so soft that my hands began to stroke the inside of it. I walked towards the exit signs and to my surprise, it was already morning. How long was I out for? No clue. I needed to find my supplies. I had my right hand gripped on my switchblade in my pocket. I looked for any hint to where my supplies could have been. I had to risk asking someone. I saw a guard in front of me facing away. I opened my switch blade and stalked up in front of him. When I was close enough, I got up on his back and grunted as I stabbed his chest viciously until he fell down. I checked his body and found his pistol. I took it and hid it behind my back. I continued to walk behind the buildings and finally found an armory and supplies depot. I sneaked in from the back and looked around. My backpack was laying right beside Joel's backpack. I looked around to check if anyone was there and to my surprise, no one was here. I quickly snatch me and Joel's backpacks and quickly left the room. I seriously needed to find Joel. Who knows what's happening to him. He could even be dead by now… No. I can't think like that. He knows how to survive these types of things. I need to find him now.

"Hey you know where the Town hall is?" One of the guards asked.

"Sure thing. Follow this road down and you'll find it. When're you gonna be done with your post?" One of the guards were standing by the road with a rifle.

"Done in an hour or so. Why?"

"Me and some friends are playin' poker. Need one more man. Care to join?"

"Sure thing. See you at the bar?"

"Yup. Don't be so cruel to the guy. He's taken a beating already. Heard Lennie beat the shit outta him. Blood everywhere."

"Whatever man." The guy snorted and began to walk down the road. "See you at the bar."

I followed him behind buildings until he stopped in front of a large, white building that had the words "Town Hall" on it. I see him take a deep breath and spit out some saliva before going in. He closes the door behind him and everything turned quiet. I didn't notice until now that there were no families that lived here. It was an armory. Everywhere. Every building had guns perched around. These guys were definitely prepared for the worst. I peeked around the building and quickly snuck inside. I had to find Joel. The backpacks were a huge burden to carry. Just when I was about to walk in, I heard gunshots and screams from inside.

They weren't Joel's screams.

I quickly pulled open the doors to find Joel all bloody and panting. His eye was swelled, but he still had a gun pointed at someone behind the stairway.

"Now, now. Listen here Joel. We've been friends for quite a time. Let's just talk. Ain't that how real men should settle it?"

"You're a God damn psycho. What in the world happened to you Len?"

"What happened to me?" Lennie began to pick up his voice, "Look at you! What happened to you Joel? You used to be the best at what you did. Killing people for supplies."

"I changed sides after the things we've done."

"Oh so Mr. Miller decided to get a reality check?" Lennie was screaming.

"Yeah. And you should TOO!" Joel had the same expression as always whenever he gets mad. He glares at the person with clenched teeth and his nose flaring. "After all we've been through. You don't even give us any peace and quiet? Why in the world are you doing this?"

"Look at us now Joel. LOOK AT OUR BASE. WE HAVE NO FOOD LEFT. ALMOST NOTHING. WE CANNOT SURVIVE ANY LONGER." A chunk of the building flew from under the stairs and hit Joel in the head. Joel reacted immediately after he flinched and shot him 4 times in the chest. Lennie pummeled forward and stood motionless. Joel turned around and found me staring at him and Lennie. "You ok?" Was the only thing I was able to ask.

"Been better." He grumbled. "How'd you get out?"

"Long story I guess. We'll talk about it when we get back."

Joel was weak and could barely walk. He began coughing blood and knelt down. He stared at me in pain. One of his eyes were swelled up and he had cuts and bruises all over him.

"Oh fuck. You're hurt pretty badly." I ran up to him and held onto him for some support. "We need to move."

Joel nodded and got up. He was still limp on his right leg where he was shot. He was clutching his arm which was bleeding.

"You need one of these uniforms." I ran towards one of the soldiers and took his jacket. I helped Joel get in it and he got back up again. "So what's the plan?" I asked.

"You're driving." He pointed at a compact four-wheeler and he gave me the keys to it.

"We need to fucking move." I ran towards the vehicle, turned on the ignition, and threw both of our backpacks on the open trunk. I ran back to help Joel into the front.

"Ellie…" Joel coughed. "Ram the entrance."

I nodded and stared at him. He's not going to die. He's stronger than this. I've seen him get impaled by a foot long iron bar. He'll be fine. I sped towards the entrance they didn't even bother looking at us. They just opened the doors and allowed us to leave.

"That was possibly the shittiest security I've ever seen in my life." I laughed and looked at Joel. He smiled and closed his eyes. I patted his shoulder forcing him to stay awake. I continued stepping on the pedal and in a matter of time, we got to Tommy and Maria's.

"WHAT'S YOUR DEAL HERE?" One of the guards screamed with a gun pointed at me. "WHERE ARE YOU FROM?"

I looked up and screamed with panic, "OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR." I looked at Joel and his eyes were closed. I quickly tried to find a pulse. It was faint. The doors opened and I sped in. Sarah and a guard carried a stretcher and quickly carried Joel into the first aid grounds. I left the car and ran towards Joel.

"Joel! Stay awake. You need to stay awake." I patted him on the shoulder and I looked at Sarah. "Use the paddles! Use the paddles!"

"Ellie. You're going to have to leave… Two drops of painkillers. Four drops of penicillin. Those gashes could cause infections."

Sarah injected Joel with so many needles I couldn't even count. She put tubes and stuck things on him. I saw his pulse. It was growing fainter and fainter. Nothing was working on Joel. The heartbeat was gone and a line traveled through the heart monitor with a loud beeping sound. "Defibs! I need those defibs!" Sarah screamed grabbing onto the paddles. She put one paddle on the chest and the other on his waist. "3… 2… 1… Clear!" Sarah pressed the red buttons and Joel got up gasping for air. His eyes were wild and began to grumble in pain.

"Joel!" I ran up to him, but a guard stopped me. "Let me fucking go!" I began to see stars again and my eyesight was darkening. I continued screaming and thrashing.

"Get her out of here!" Sarah screamed. I fought against the guards, but I grew weak. I could barely walk. My eyes drooped and I stopped screaming.

A brief echo came from Sarah who ran towards me. "Ellie? Ellie! Sedate Joel now! Ellie! Listen to me. Can you hear my voice?" She shined a light on me, but I couldn't talk. My ears were ringing and I grew deaf. Darkness and silence.

Fucking awesome.